Cabinet cuts in civil service, warns about AI expectations

The cabinet has announced plans to reduce the civil service by approximately 25,000 FTE, which amounts to over 15% of the current employment of 160,016 FTE. In contrast to these cuts, the cabinet emphasizes in its progress report that expectations of AI and digitalization should not be overestimated. However, the actual impact and the intended results of AI will only become clear in the first quarter of 2027.

In the progress report, sent by State Secretary Eric van der Burg on October 26, 2026, it states that the civil service must save €900 million in 2027, rising to €3.5 billion by 2035. Not all government services are affected by these cuts; the police and defense sectors, as well as the Public Prosecution Service and other security services, remain untouched. The number of FTEs that will actually disappear is innovative, depending on the salary scales and where the cuts take place.

The cabinet plans to leverage AI more broadly to save costs, but the exact savings remain unclear. Before AI can effectively contribute to efficiency, issues such as security, data quality, and sovereignty must first be ensured. Adjustments in infrastructure and a fundamental overhaul of work processes are also necessary. Critics of previous rounds of digitalization point out that earlier promises of cost savings and reduction of personnel have not been fulfilled, leading to new tasks and an increased demand for personnel.

According to the cabinet, a maximum of 0.5% per year can be achieved through efficiency improvements, which would account for one-third of the savings. For the remainder of the target, the government will need to decide which tasks it can scrap or reduce. Details on how these cuts will be implemented in practice will be outlined in the spring memorandum. This particularly affects ministries and implementing agencies, where in many cases a reduction of 20 to even 60% in personnel is expected.

Read the full article from AI Insider.